UCSD Profiles

search, discover, network

Biography

Dr. Tsuang is Behavioral Genomics Endowed Chair and University Professor, University of California and Distinguished Professor of Psychiatry and Director, Center for Behavioral Genomics, Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Diego. He also directs the Harvard Institute of Psychiatric Epidemiology and Genetics. He was Stanley Cobb Professor of Psychiatry and Chairman, Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School at Massachusetts Mental Health Center, where he served as superintendent and president of Massachusetts Mental Health Institute of Psychiatry. He received his M.D. degree from National Taiwan University and his Ph.D. in Psychiatric Genetics and D.Sc. (Doctor of Science,) in Genetics Epidemiology from University of London. He has been recognized worldwide for his research in schizophrenia, manic-depressive illness, and substance abuse.

One of his areas of interest is in the interactions between genetic and environmental risk factors for severe mental disorders. His current effort is to study prevention of psychiatric disorders before their onset, particularly in blood relatives of people suffering from schizophrenia, to identify traits that predispose a person to developing schizophrenia from both genetic and environmental perspectives.

He is a member of the Institute of Medicine, National Academy of Sciences, and served on the National Advisory Mental Health Council, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. He has been elected Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association, American College of Psychiatrists, and British Royal Society of Psychiatrists, Fellow and former President of the American Psychopathological Association. He is a Council Member of the Taiwan National Health Research Institute, and Academician, Academia Sinica of Taiwan, the highest academic institution in Taiwan. He is currently the President of the International Society of Psychiatric Genetics.

Dr. Tsuang is the recipient of a myriad of awards for his work, among them: the Rema Lapouse Award for Mental Health Epidemiology, the American Public Health Association; the Stanley Dean Award for Research in Schizophrenia, the American College of Psychiatrists; the National Institute of Mental Health Merit Award; the Noyes Award for Research in Schizophrenia; the National Alliance for Research on Schizophrenia and Depression Distinguished Investigator Award; and the Paul H. Hoch Award, the American Psychopathological Association. Dr. Tsuang also received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the International Society of Psychiatric Genetics, the Taiwanese-American Award for Achievement in Science and Engineering, the Gold Medal Award from the Society of Biological Psychiatry for pioneering contributions in the field of biological psychiatry, and the Award for Research in Psychiatry, the American Psychiatric Association.

He has authored or co-authored over 600 publications, including peer review journal papers, book chapters and books in the areas of psychiatric epidemiology and genetics, including major psychoses and substance abuse and spiritual health. In addition to serving on many editorial boards of scientific journals, he is currently the Senior Editor for Neuropsychiatric Genetics, a section of the American Journal of Medical Genetics.